Recommended diversions

Christmas Eve dinner

Not the particular food, per se, but the tradition. In our home it’s Lori’s homemade lasagna, and one pan probably weighs 10 pounds because it has so much cheese, meat and pasta. My pasta-loving children get all up in the mix helping her make it and devouring a good portion of the extra — purposely included in the preparations as the eating during cooking is part of the tradition — during the process. It hits the oven when we leave for Mass, and it’s ready when we return. Lots of bread dipped in oil, perhaps a salad, and it’s a feast. My wife is carrying on her mother’s tradition, and it’s a good one. Nothing like warmed over lasagna for lunch after the Christmas morning rush to the presents.

Raking

Everyone else is done, and their leaf blowers are neatly packed away. I’ve still got a quarter of my yard to go, but I’ll take my time. Here’s one tradition I’ll keep, that of pulling out the rake and getting rid of the yard litter. Yeah, it takes forever. Yeah, I could be done by now. But I like the time outdoors, like using the retro rake, and I absolutely despise the noise of leaf blowers. I’ll be finished sometime before the daffodils start blooming.

The rush of post-holiday fitness freaks

OK, my gym is already getting crowded. That’s the pre-holiday fitness folks who are preparing for the food that seems to keep pouring in from every direction. After Jan. 1 the influx really gets huge. It’s fun to see new people at the fitness center, in the cardio area, the gym, the weight room. It’s like a party for a while. Then it ends. The one-month trial membership limps to a close. Come on, hang around this year. Here’s to hoping we’ll still be seeing each other in June.